Mandarin and Mango Boutique Hotels, Faralya
Elegant Country Retreats. Doubles from £180 H/B. Flight-inclusive packages from £1100 H/B pppw
These discreet retreats pull off the substantial trick of feeling like established country residences, perhaps in Provence or Umbria, when they are actually new- or newish-built villas barely a half-hour’s drive from the bars ‘n clubs of Ölüdeniz in one direction and the hippy camps of Kabak in the other. That’s down to the style and experience of owner Ghislain Sireilles, a French Levantine raised in Turkey, who has done so much to pioneer tourism to the country. Both properties, which stand opposite each other on a country lane, have been designed to appeal to the clientele – largely British, often sedate, even retired, but active – that Ghislain has gained at Cachet Travels, his London-based tour operation. They work outstandingly well.
But it’s at Mango, the more recently built of the two villas, that Ghislain has excelled. Here are delightful walled grounds, with an abundance of shady corners, arranged around a swimming pool. The adjacent villa is open-plan on the ground floor, even unto the kitchen, which reinforces the impression that one is lucky enough to be making up numbers at a cultured house party hosted by Ghislain. As for the bedrooms, these are of quite exceptional size. As I say, all this is comfort of the kind I might have had, or dreamed of having, in rural southern France. But with Turkish touches, like the artfully recycled Ottoman timbers and old hearths, the glorious breakfasts and the mid-morning coffees which arrive on small trays at one’s poolside lounger.
Ghislain, who knows this remote and lovely area as well as anybody, often leads day hikes along the nearby Lycian Way or can arrange for boating trips along the adjacent coast. Then there are the evening meals on the belvedere terrace where like-minded guests tend to gather at table to enjoy gourmet experiences grounded in the best of Turkish village cuisine.
Nightlife? The sound of the owls, maybe a game of backgammon and a star-lit sky.
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